I was recently reading a book on the 10 principles of Abundance. I was happily agreeing with the author until... he got to the last principle, Sourcing. Sourcing in his lexicon, was ownership, being responsible and taking action. He kept talking about sourcing from himself.
Good luck with that young fellow.
What if we source from the Earth herself, from the High Mountains, and the Power of the Rivers that use them as Headwaters. What if we use that kind of energy and power to live our lives, and to find the ways in which we can serve and create Full Abundance for All.
Now THAT'S Sourcing.

Courage.
Brene Brown defines it as
the ability to stand in your heart,
and speak the truth of who you are.
Being willing to be
Vulnerable.
My Whole Heart is
using this Full Moon
to own its Vulnerability by
standing fully in
​Courage.

Photo Credit: Vedauwoo, WY, Alyssa Countway

​There is an element of relationship referred to as the Demand, or
​the Call to Rise.
Without which most humans will quite happily stay
in their world of comfort.
But we did not come here for comfort,
rather to be curious and to play.
A mentor gets right in there with you
​and invokes that Call to Rise.

​
​Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing.                                        --Arundhati Roy

The Tree of Life 
is an ancient multicultural metaphor.
A metaphor, in indigenous terms, is encoded wisdom:
vibrant and alive.
The Tree of Life holds for us the wisdom of 'Being Human':
the individual seated in the Collective.
In an aspen grove, the entire grove is one organism.
And from this organism rises many unique expressions of 
'Being Tree',
each separate yet at the root, one.

We are all in this time of great change together.
​And yet our most powerful and effective actions
are at the individual level. 

The thriving of each tree informs and feeds the whole.
The collective is essential for the thriving of the individual.
​It has always been so.

​“The point of marriage is not to create a quick commonality by tearing down all boundaries; on the contrary, a good marriage is one in which each partner appoints the other to be the guardian of his solitude, and thus they show each other the greatest possible trust. A merging of two people is an impossibility, and where it seems to exist, it is a hemming-in, a mutual consent that robs one party or both parties of their fullest freedom and development. But once the realization is accepted that even between the closest people infinite distances exist, a marvelous living side-by-side can grow up for them, if they succeed in loving the expanse between them, which gives them the possibility of always seeing each other as a whole and before an immense sky.”  --Rainer Maria Rilke

Two friends of mine are celebrating their wedding anniversary. I was the Officiant, who witnessed and authorized their vows. They have always been in This Place in their union, 'Guardians of each others Solitude'.
This post is a tribute to them. This is no easy task, and yet is everything.

In these northern latitudes, we name the seasons in fours: Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter.
By naming them, we believe we know them and don't look back over our shoulder to see what else might be true.
Aborigines of Australian latitudes experience the seasons as six, in pairs. When I look over my shoulder, there they are, in pairs, even here.
By looking again, New Meaning presents. New Meaning brings Greater Value. That's how the world gets created anew.

We are definitely in Late Summer: August/ September.
The ripening of what is already set. New seeds for the next season ready to drop down to the earth's floor, dig deep into the dirt, and 'think about' their new legacy through the winter's storms, protected by the mantle of snow.

And the rest of the seasons present. Awaiting their turns. Awaiting the deliverance of their wisdom.
Autumn: October/ November. Any life form that must fade away, drops off, is released. The life that continues prepares for withstanding the freezing temps.
Deep Winter: December/ January. Reduced Light and Heat. Introspection. Darkness. Pause.
Early Spring: February/ March. The beginning of the Quickening. Life Force starting its rising. New leaf beginnings. Signs of Life remembering itself.
Full Spring: April/ May. The cacophony of Life Force Rising. Spring Green in all shades. New Tendrils appearing through dirt, through snow, whatever it needs to move through in order reach towards the Light.
Early Summer: June/ July. Long days. Oncoming Heat. Unfolding of last season's seed promise, even as the next year's seed promise is formed.

And then, in the great wisdom of the earth as a living system, we're back again, but not to the same place. Back again to a place we've never been before. As we move into this new Late Summer season, what is here that is Brand New. How can I use that New Wisdom to thrive in my own life, and to feed my Collectives to hold themselves in a new, more Joyful Way.

A friend I was mentoring the other day was trying to think her way forward in a challenging situation.
What came out of me:
Huh, I wonder if the tulip consciousness thinks its way forward,
or just sits back in wonderment at the green and yellow unfolding.